Torch furor sends French envoys to China

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has dispatched a trio of top officials to China to ease the uproar over a Paris demonstration targeting the Olympic torch.

Counter-protests against the French supermarket chain Carrefour drew thousands of Chinese angered at the disruption of the Paris torch relay by pro-Tibet demonstrators.

In an effort to mollify the Chinese, Sarkozy sent Christian Poncelet, president of the French Senate, to Shanghai Monday. Separate missions by former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte will follow him.

Sarkozy himself met during the weekend with an envoy from Beijing in what The New York Times reported Monday was an indication France was becoming increasingly worried about its economic interests in China.

(UPI)

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